Strips for feeding tacks and the like



p 9, 1967 A. E. NEWTON 3,342,327

STRIPS FOR FEEDING TACKS AND THE LIKE Filed June 24, 1963 lumen far Alberz E. New for: By his/1 H0 rne y United States Patent 3,342,327 STRIPS FOR FEEDING TACKS AND THE LIKE Albert E. Newton, 2 Bass River Road, Beverly, Mass. 01915 Filed June 24, 1963, Ser. No. 289,828 8 Claims. (Cl. 20656) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is directed to a tack strip having as a fastener mounting, a strip of tissue paper adapted to receive the shanks of fasteners with their heads adjacent one surface of the strip, and a stronger backing strip secured to that surface of the tissue paper. The backing strip is formed with apertures arranged to surround the fastener heads such that each fastener is supported only by the tissue paper and exposed for driving.

This invention relates to fastener tapes and the like. More specifically the invention is concerned with providing a flexible, improved tack strip by means of which a succession of tacks may be fed into operating position and easily separated from the strip for individual insertion.

As incidentally disclosed many years ago, for instance, in United States Letters Patent No. 626,012, issued to J. P. Van Derveer, it is well known to feed fasteners such as tacks by means of a carrying belt. The patent referred to teaches the use of a thin strip of paper through which the shanks of a row of tacks project and a thicker strip of imperforate paper adhesively coated and applied over the heads of the tacks to form a backing. While such strips have been generally satisfactor they are defective in some respects hereinafter to be noted. It accordingly is an object of this invention to provide an improved fastener feeding strip of this type which shall be economical to assemble, and reliable yet lightweight to facilitate use in hand-held inserting tools.

In accordance with this object a feature of the present invention resides in the combination with a strip of tissue paper through which the shanks of fasteners may extend in a row, of a stronger backing strip having perforations spaced and formed to surround the exposed heads of th fasteners, one surface of the perforated strip being secured to the tissue paper to reinforce it. In its method aspect a further feature of the invention consists in assembly of the composite strip by first superimposing the tissue and perforated strips in adhering relation, mounting the ta ks with their shanks extending through the tissue paper and their heads respectively positioned in the perforations of the backing strip, and then spraying the backing strip along the line of its perforations with a lacquer or rubber type adhesive to stiffen it, that portion of the spray entering the perforations penetrating the exposed tissue paper and being spread by its fibers beneath the fastener heads to secure them.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will now be more particularly described in connection with a specific embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings thereof, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tack strip with its components in exploded relation;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the assembled tack strip;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2.

The illustrative tack strip is of the general type shown in a copending application Ser. No. 287,541 filed June 13, 1963, now Patent No. 3,193,167, in my name and relating to a hand-held tacker having automatic strip feeding means. Since tools of this construction may employ sprocket feed wheels for advancing the backing strip by meshing therewith it will be understood that the strip of this invention preferably, but not necessarily, includes marginal spaced apertures 10 (FIGS. l3,) for receiving sprocket teeth.

The composite strip includes a length of tissue paper 12 of gauze-like character for receiving in a row the shanks of fasteners, such as tacks T, usually evenly spaced apart. In this arrangement heads H of the tacks are usually circular and lie closely adjacent to one surface of the tissue paper 12. A stronger backing strip 14 for the tissue may be of kraft paper or, if preferred, of cellulosic or transparent tape which has been preformed with apertures 16 of a size and shape adapted to surround and expose the heads H respectively. The backing strip 14 will preferably have an adhesively coated surface to enable it to be progressively secured to the head-carrying surface of the tissue paper, the apertures 16 being spaced in accordance with the desired spacing of the heads, and each aperture being slightly larger than the fastener head to be recessed therein. Desirably the apertures 16 and slots 10 are staggered. It will be apparent that the backing strip cannot impede nor interfere with driving action directed at the fasteners axially and that it is only necessary to rupture the relatively soft fibers of the tissue paper to separate each fastener as it is being driven. Preliminary forming of sprocket apertures in the tissue paper is unnecessary since sprocket teeth will normally mesh therewith without such formations.

In a preferred process of assembling the composite strip, the perforated and precoated backing strip will first be superimposed in adhering relation on the tissue paper 12, then the fastener shanks will be thrust points first through the tissue paper from one side thereof, each tack head being centrally recessed in an aperture 16. Though not always essential, a preferred final step in the assembling involves spraying the backing strip 14 along the row of apertures 16 with a lacquer or rubber adhesive 18 serving to stiffen it and also insuring that the tacks T are retained. Thus the spray penetrates the exposed tissue fibers about each tack head H and is drawn between the uncovered heads and the tissue better to hold them and their shanks in their proper relative positions.

The economical fastener mounting strip above described is advantageous in that a tack driver need not break through the backing and thus disrupt tack positioning, little force is required to break each fastener from its tissue mounting, and any fibers carried with the fastener head are soft and not apt to gum up or jam operation of an inserting device. Moreover, it will be evident that upon initially loading the strip in an inserting device the position of each exposed endmost fastener head with respect to a driving tool may be ascertained by inspection.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A feedable fastener mounting comprising (1) a strip of tissue paper adapted to receive the shanks of fasteners with their heads adjacent to one surface thereof; and

(2) a stronger backing strip secured to said one surface of the tissue paper, the backing strip being formed with apertures arranged to surround the respective fastener heads whereby each is supported only by the tissue paper and exposed for driving therefrom.

2. A composite tape for feeding fasteners in a row comprising a tissue paper strip for receiving the shanks of fasteners therethrough with their heads exposed adjacent one surface thereof, and a backing strip of stronger paper in adhering relation to said one surface of the tissue paper to reinforce it, the backing strip having a row of apertures spaced to accord with the spacing of the fastener heads, the apertures being slightly larger than the respective heads accessible therein.

3. A tape as set forth in claim 2 wherein the backing strip is of kraft paper, and along its row of apertures a coating of adhesive has been spread.

4. A tape as set forth in claim 2 wherein the backing strip is provided with at least one marginal row of feed slots adapted to receive sprocket teeth, said slots being in staggered relation to the apertures.

5. A tack strip comprising a strip of tissue paper, a plurality of tacks having their shanks received through said tissue paper strip and their heads disposed adjacent to one surface thereof, and a backing strip of material stronger than tissue paper, said backing strip being secured to said one surface of the tissue paper and being formed with apertures surrounding each of the respective tack heads such that each tack is supported only by the tissue paper strip with its head exposed for driving therefrom.

6. A tack strip comprising a tissue paper strip, a plurality of tacks arranged in a row having their shanks ex tending through said tissue paper and their heads exposed adjacent to one surface of said tissue paper, and a backing strip of stronger paper having a row of apertures spaced to accord with said tack heads, said backing strip being disposed in adhering relation to said one side of the tissue paper with each of said tack heads accessible through a respective aperture in said backing strip.

7. A tack strip as set forth in claim 6 wherein the backing strip is of kraft paper, and along its row of apertures a coating of adhesive has been spread, said adhesive having penetrated between the tissue paper and the tack heads to secure the tacks.

8. A tack strip as set forth in claim 6 wherein the backing strip is provided with at least one marginal row of feed slots adapted to receive sprocket teeth, said slots being in staggered relation to the apertures.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 226,817 4/1880 Woodward et al 20656 2,771,610 11/1956 Smith 206-56 3,097,558 7/1963 Jacob 206-52 X 20 3,136,679 6/1964 Bender 206-56 X THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Examiner.

J. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,342,327 September 19, 1967 Albert E. Newton r appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that erro ent should read as ent requiring correction and that the said Letters Pat corrected below.

In the heading to the printed specification, lines 3 and 4, for "Albert E Newton, 2 Bass River Road, Beverly, Mass F 01915" read Albert E Newton, Beverly, Mass asslgnor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass. a corporatlon of New Jersey Signed and sealed this 8th day of October 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

1. A FEEDABLE FASTENER MOUNTING COMPRISING (1) A STRIP OF TISSUE PAPER ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE SHANKS OF FASTENERS WITH THEIR HEADS ADJACENT TO ONE SURFACE THEREOF; AND (2) A STRONGER BACKING STRIP SECURED TO SAID ONE SURFACE OF THE TISSUE PAPER, THE BACKING STRIP BEING FORMED WITH APERTURES ARRANGED TO SURROUND THE RESPECTIVE FASTENER HEADS WHEREBY EACH IS SUPPORTED ONLY BY THE TISSUE PAPER AND EXPOSED FOR DRIVING THEREFROM. 